Love and Crime
by XxRoseyxX
Summary: Detective Elena Matthews has been with the NY crime lab for 2 years as of the pilot , and each case is an epsiode and goes by seasons. A look into Elena's life, and her job as she solves cases, and the toughest mysteries yet: Life, and Love. Pairings include, Flack/OC, Danny/Lindsay, Mac/Stella, others unknown. My first CSI:NY fic. Hope you like it! R&R! :)
1. Notes

Notes:

Love and Crime is set to the CSI: NY universe except for a few changes. I added my OC Elena Matthews to the crime lab around the same time Danny was hired. The changes are:

Jess is not dead. (And she and Flack are just partners.)

Mac and Stella are together

Elena and Flack get together...

Danny and Lindsay get together faster

Danny doesn't get paralyzed

Shane Casey doesn't come back for revenge on Danny.

Stella stays in New York.

Important dates-

2002- Elena Matthews and Danny Messer are transferred to NY Crime lab

2003- Aiden Burn is hired.

2004- Events in "Blink" (pilot 1x01)

2005- Aiden Burn is fired

2006- Aiden Burn is murdered

The team is:

Elena Matthews, (OC)

Don Flack

Danny Messer

Lindsay Monroe

Stella Bonasera

Mac Taylor  
Sheldon Hawkes

Sid Hammerback

Adam Ross

Jessica Angell


	2. Never a minute's rest in NYC

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Alright. Jeez." I mumbled as I fumbled for my phone on the end table. I found it and answered.

"Matthews." I bit out, rolling out of bed, heading towards the bathroom. I hear a laugh.

"Esh, Lena. Don't shoot the messenger, okay?" Danny said jokingly. I sighed.

"Sorry, Danny. I didn't sleep well. What's up?" I asked, as I looked at my reflection. Good enough.

"Homicide at Central Park. West side of the park. When can you be here." He asked me.

"I'll be there in 20." I told him as I pulled on a grey t-shirt and dark jeans and combat boots.

"See ya then." He said, hanging up. I grabbed my keys and my leather jacket and left my apartment.

I arrived at the crime scene with 10 minutes to spare. A benefit of being called on at 2:30am. I saw Danny taking pictures of the vic. As I walked up, I saw that she was young. Maybe 17.

"Hey! There you are, Elena. Was wondering when you'd show." Aiden calls as she walks over.

"Yeah, yeah. What've we got?" I ask her, looking over the scene. Hawkes was kneeling by the body. A girl was laying on the ground in a field, in a tattered gold dress. She was missing her left shoe, her right was a few feet away. It was gold, and had rhinestones on it. She was covered in blood and dirt. Her hair was blonde, in short curls.

"Amy Grant, age 16. COD likely blunt force trauma." Hawkes said as he stood up from his place by the body.

"Found her parents. She was going to her best friend's sweet sixteen." Flack said as he came up behind them.

"16? Oh, man." Aiden said as she sighed.

"Who's the best friend?" I asked, turning to face Flack. He looked tired, with baggs under his beautiful blue eyes. _Beautiful?_ What the hell? Focus, Elena. He looked at his notepad and back at me.

"Melanie Lowell. She's having her party at the Royalton. Wanna drop by, Elena?" He asked, smiling.

"Why, I'd love to. Never had sweet sixteens in my neighborhood in Chicago." I said, shrugging.

"You'd have to wear a dress for those, right?" Danny asked me. I scowled.

"You know, I've never been thankful for growing up in a one bedroom downtown before." I said, causing Danny to chuckle knowingly. We were similar, which is why we're best friends.

"Let's go find the ball, Cinderella." I told him, which I thought was hilarious but Flack frowned. I laughed and tapped his cheek, heading towards the car.

We found the sweet sixteen fairly quickly after arriving at the Royalton. They had rented out the ballroom, and they were all dressed like they were going to prom. The best friend, Melanie, had this ridiculous pink sparkly nightmare on, and she had her blonde hair pinned up.

"Melanie Lowell?" I asked, as we walked up in front of her, flashing our badges. She nodded.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but Amy Grant was found dead in Central Park an hour ago." Flack said.

"No! Oh my god. Amy's dead? How?" She cried, shaking her head.

"We aren't sure exactly but there's reason to believe she was murdered." She started wailing.

"Do you know anyone who would want to hurt her? Want her dead?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Well, Amy started dating this guy, Callum. His ex hated Amy. Like threatened to push her down the stairs hate. She was on the cheerleading squad with Amy, until she dropped Amy on purpose."

"She dropped her? Over a guy?" I asked, stunned. She nodded.

"I know. Stupid, right? Shelley's crazy though. Shelley Marks. She's a senior." Melanie told us.

"Thanks, Melanie. If you remember something or need anything, here's my card." Flack said, handing her his card. She smiled weakly and ran to her parents. We left the Royalton, heading to the lab.

"Mac?" I asked knocking on his door. He turned and looked up at me. He waved me in.

"I hear you have a suspect?" He asks as he sits in his chair. I nod, handing him the folder.

"Shelley Marks, 18. This chick's marbles. She dropped the vic- Amy- for being voted cheer captain. Amy's best friend Melanie told us that Amy was dating Shelley's ex, Callum." I told him.

After updating Mac, I head to the precinct to interview Shelley Marks. She's sitting in the interview room, wearing a light blue shirt and a white skirt. With her orange hair in a ponytail.

"Shelley? I'm Detective Flack and this is Detective Matthews from the crime lab. We need to ask you a few questions regarding Amy Grant." Flack tells her and she huffs at Amy's name. I sit at the table, Flack leaning against the wall. Halfway into the interview she claims she wasn't there.

"We have your DNA which proves that you were. You killed her. She was dating your ex boyfriend, so you followed her to the park and bashed her head in with your cheerleading trophy." I told her.

"Yes! Okay?! She gets _Captain?!_ A _sophomore?!_ And then she steals my boyfriend? No way."

I look at Flack and then look back at Shelley Marks. I grin, smugly.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Amy Grant. And you're 18, so you'll be charged as an adult."

"Nice work." Flack tells me as we exit the interview room. I smile at him and walk to the exit.

"Lena!" Danny calls out as I enter the lab and he walks up to me.

"Yeah?" I ask making a bee-line for the break room, and more importantly, coffee.

"Caught a case, and Aiden's with Mac. Care to lend a hand?" He asks handing me a cup of coffee.

"God, this is why we're friends. No wonder I put up with you." I tell him, smirking as I take a sip.

"Ha-ha. So? You gonna help me?" He asks, and I nod. He smirks.

"Thanks, I owe you one." As he goes to get his kit. I take a sip of coffee. Black with sugar.

We get to the house and open the door to find a pretty damn near spotless crime scene. All except the body laying beside the desk in the study. Hawkes was leaning over the body examining it when we entered.

"Didn't you just wrap a case an hour ago?" He asks me. I shrug.

"I guess that doesn't matter to killers. Rude, huh? Can't even have a cup of joe without catching a body." I tell him gesturing at the body below. He smirks.

"Well, there's no visible trauma. I'll know more when I open him up." He says standing up.

"Danny, you want the body or the scene?" I ask him, knowing his answer.

"Body. Have fun finding any evidence." He says, grinning. I groan, opening my kit.

I ended up finding a foreign fingerprint on the window pane and a fiber on the broken window. Danny found similar fibers on the victims suit. We traced the fibers to the business partner, Jeff Douglas, but the murder weapon was morphine. His wife, a doctor, had access to the necessary amount.

"We found the morphine in your car, Valerie. You killed your husband by injecting him with enough morphine to down an elephant. Then you called your boyfriend, Jeff, and he broke the window to make it look like a break in. The thing is, he broke it from inside, leaving a fingerprint and some fibers behind." I told her and she started crying. Flack looked at me and I shrugged.

"He was abusing me. I had no choice." She said, and I shook my head.

"You could have left. You killed him instead." I said, and left the room. Flack and I went to get a drink.

"After a day like today, I needed this, Flack." I told him, taking a swig of my beer. He laughed.

"Don't I know it." He agreed, drinking his. We talked and had another beer, waiting for Danny.

"Hey, you guys started without me, again?" Danny asked, from behind us. We turned and laughed.

"Yeah, well. Elena had a slam dunk interview and you were dragging ass at the lab." Flack said and I drank my beer and grinned.


	3. Things changed

I just make it off the elevators when I hear my name.

"Elena!" I turn around see Flack walking down the hall towards me. He smiles. God he has a great smile.

"Hey, Flack. What are you doing here?" I ask him, smiling back.

"Actually, I'm here for you. Mac assigned you to my case and I was here when I got the call."

"Cool, just let me get my kit." I tell him walking to my office I share with Aiden and Danny.

In the car Flack and I argue over the radio station. We get coffee on the way, but he forgot the sugar.

"We've known each other for what, 3-4 years? You didn't get sugar, Flack." I tell him, crossing my arms. He smirks.

"That's mine. Yours is in the other cup holder. I would never forget the sugar, El." He smiles.

"Oh. Good. I'd be hurt if you couldn't remember how I take my coffee." I take a sip of my coffee.

As we're walking up, Flack makes a morbid and slightly inappropriate remark, but it makes me laugh.

Stella gives me a look from where she's taking pictures, and I stop laughing and walk over to her.

"Something funny?" She asks, and I shrug. She sighs and stops taking pictures.

"What's with you and Flack?" Stella asks me.

"What are you talking about, Stel?" I ask her, hoping she can't see I'm lying.

"Come on. I know you, both. There's something different between you two." She says and I sigh.

"I don't think we should be talking about this here." I said, gesturing to the body.

"The guy's dead, El. He won't mind. Just work the scene while we're talking." She says. I groan.

"Okay, fine. Truth is, I'm not sure what's going on. It just changed, last night we were at the bar and then it kind of hit me, that somethings different." I told her taking out my gloves and putting them on.

"What do you mean, different?" Stella asks, taking a picture of a blood drop that doesn't belong to the vic.

"I was thinking and then all of a sudden I saw Flack and kinda thought about his eyes, and how blue they were. I actually thought the word beautiful. Then, earlier when he picked me up from the lab, he smiled, and I got butterflies in my stomach. When have I ever had butterflies around _Flack_?"

"Oh, El. You like him!You should talk to him." Stella said, smiling at me.

"No! What if he didn't like me? I've known him for 4 years, Stel. 'I'm one of the guys.'" I said, frowning.

"Who said that?" She asked, scoffing.

"Danny. I go out and drink with them. I actually think Flack and I hung out for a while last night waiting for Danny. It was cool, we talked and laughed and-" 

"Flirted?" Stella asked, smirking. Stel calls me a 'flirt' but I don't see it.

"No! I don't know, maybe? Should I have flirted?" I asked her, and she just laughed.

"Did I miss something?" Flack asked from behind us. I jumped and looked down.

"El, I think the answer depends on you. Did you want to flirt with him?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Oh my god! Then you should do it! You would be so cute together!" She said excitedly.

"It hasn't happened yet, Stel." I told her, shooting her a look. She calmed down. After that we got back to work. I found a fingerprint on the outside of the victim's car trunk, where we found him inside his trunk. I dusted and lifted the print. It was smudged a bit, but I could work some magic. I hope.

"Boom. Fingerprint on the trunk latch." I said, and Flack chuckled.

"I think you've been spending to much time with Danny." He said, and I smirked. I have an idea.

"If I get a name off this print, you buy me a beer. If I don't, I buy you one." I tell him and he grins.

"You're on. Now way that print's clean enough for a name. Hope you brought your money." I smirk.

"Alright, it's a bet." I tell him, walking over to the truck, and putting the print in the scanner. It takes a minute to search for a match but then the tell tale 'ding' alerts us to a match. I turn to Flack.

"Jeremy Rivers. I'll meet you at Sullivan's at 8." I tell him with a wink, walking back to the crime scene. He grins.

"See you at 8, El." He says as he walks off to find Jeremy Rivers. I sigh. Stella stares at me.

"You just got a date with Flack over a smudged fingerprint." She says, slowly grinning.

"Yeah, well. Come on, we have to finish up here.

It was t-minus one hour before my 'date' with Flack. I was sitting in my office waiting for my results on the blood from the scene. I heard the door, and thought it was Stella. I laugh.

"Stel, I told you it's not done yet." I tell who I thought was Stella. Danny clears his throat.

"Danny! I thought..." I start, as I spin my chair around. He looks confused and slightly annoyed.

"You're going out with Flack tonight?" He says, and I feel my eyes widen.

"Where did you hear that?" I ask him, not answering the question. He sighs.

"Stella. Is it true? Are you into Flack?" He asks, and I'm silently cursing Stella Bonasera.

"Uh- Danny you're my best friend but there are things I don't want to talk to you about." I tell him.

"Yeah, I hear ya, Lena. But I heard from Stella instead of you. My best friends are into each other and didn't tell me. I don't get it." He says, hurt.

"I'm sorry Danny. I didn't mean to- Wait did you say that 'your best friends are into each other' meaning.." I say and then Danny nods. I smile.

"God help me, but yes. I was at the precinct before coming here. I gave him the 'if you hurt her' talk." He smirks and I groan.

"Danny.. Why? What have I ever done to you?" I ask, half kidding. He shakes his head.

"No. Flack and I get along because we're the same. One night stands and flings that last a month or two max. You deserve better than that, Lena. You're like my sister." He says and I grin.

"Your mom does love me. I'm an honorary Messer, huh? Cool." I joke and he laughs. Stella hurries in, and sees Danny. I glare at her and she shrugs.

"You have one hour for your beer with Flack, and you're going like _that_?" She asked me, incredulously.

"What?" I asked, looking at my jeans and my band t-shirt and my chucks. I thought I looked okay.

"You aren't dressed for a date, or for work. You're a cop, Elena." She said, shaking her head.

"I don't see the problem." Danny tells me, glaring at Stella. She shrugs and walks out. I groan.

"You better go, you'll be late for your.. date." He says, cringing as he says the last word. I laugh.

I walk into Sullivan's at 8:04 and see Flack sitting in the back, at our table. I smile.

"Hey." I say as I sit down next to him. He smiles at me and passes me a beer.

"Hey. So Danny came by the precinct." He smirked. I groaned, and took a swig of my beer.

"Stel and her big mouth went and told Danny we were going on a date, and he came into our office and asked me about it. He sounded kinda hurt we didn't tell him." I said, waiting for the reaction.

"Yeah, maybe we should have told him we were going out on a date." He says, and I grin. He called it a date! We had another beer and then he walked me home, since I live 3 blocks away. We talked and laughed, and flirted the whole way. When we got to my apartment, we stopped at my door.

"Night, El. See you tomorrow." He said, and he leaned forward and kissed my cheek, then walked off.

"Yeah." I said, grinning, with my hand on my cheek. Then I went into my apartment to try and sleep.


	4. Elena the victim

Last night all I could think about was Flack's kiss on my cheek. It was the sweetest gesture and I couldn't wait to see him again. It was 8:00am and I had been laying awake for almost an hour, waiting for my alarm to go off. I decide to get up early and take a long shower and pick out my outfit. I stand up and head to my bathroom, and turn the shower on. Once I see steam, I jump in and the hot water feels great. I stay in the shower for about 30 minutes and decide to get out. I grab a towel and walk to my closet, grabbing black panties and a matching bra, a pair of ripped jeans, and a black v-neck. Once I'm dressed I head back into the bathroom and dry my hair. 20 minutes of blow-drying my hair and my long dark brown hair is naturally straight. I put on some eyeliner under my bright green eyes. Once I'm satisfied, I head into my kitchen grabbing a slice of pepperoni from the fridge. Then I grab my phone, keys, and leather jacket and walk out the door. I get to work 15 minutes later, getting ambushed by Stel.

"So, how was your date last night?" She asks excitedly. I smile.

"It went great, Stel. He called it a date, which wasn't said until then, and he walked me home."

"Anything happen after that?" She smirks. I pretend to be offended.

"On the first date, Bonasera? I'm not that kinda girl! Seriously though, he kissed my cheek. It was sweet." I said, grinning. She squealed.

"You are so cute! I can't wait to see how you two act around each other now." She said as we stopped in front of the briefing room. Mac was waiting with Danny, and Aiden. We walked in and Mac smiled.

"Good, everyone's here. I'll start handing out assignments. Stella and Aiden, drowning at the east river. Elena, Danny, you get the homicide at an apartment in Queens." Mac tells us and we go to grab our kits.

"Been a while since we were partnered up, Messer." I tell him with a grin. He chuckles.

"Probably because of last time." I frown.

"That wasn't my fault! I don't go looking for trouble, it just finds me." I say smirking. He nods.

We get to the apartment building about 20 minutes later and see the huge number of tenants behind the police tape. One guy checks me out and winks at me and I scoff and duck under the tape, heading inside and up to the apartment. Flack is talking to a very tan blonde in a tight purple dress outside the apartment, and I scowl. Danny stands next to me and looks at me and what I'm scowling about. He laughs. I glare at him, heading into the vic's apartment.

"You're jealous. That's adorable." He grins and walks over to the vic. I scoff.

"Just take the pictures, Danny. And I'm not jealous." I tell him, opening my kit and pulling on my gloves. Vic is a beautiful African American woman with a bloody, pink t-shirt on and jeans. Flack walks over and smiles at me before looking at Danny.

"Vic's name is Katie Carter, 31. Lived alone. She was a forensic nurse at Trinity."

"Obvious trauma to the face and hands. She was in a fight, and got a few hits in." I say, grabbing my camera and taking pictures. I check under her fingernails and find blood and possibly skin. I bag her hands and turn to Danny.

"I think our vic scratched her killer. Hopefully we get DNA." Danny nods, collecting a blood sample from the blood pool on the floor. I find a broken bottle and some blood drops a few feet away from our vic. Katie didn't have any major lacerations. It must be from the killer. I collect a sample and also grab the broken bottle, putting it in an evidence bag. I managed to lift a partial palm print from the bottle.

Back at the lab, I put the palm print into the scanner and while I'm waiting for the results, I start piecing together the broken bottle. I get about halfway done when Flack walks in. I look up and grin.

"Wow, you managed to put it together." He says smiling. I shrug.

"I like puzzles. This job is full of them. What's up?" I ask, walking over to him.

"I was wondering if that print matched anything in CODIS." He said looking around. I raise my brows.

"I would have called if it did. The real reason?" I ask, and he smirks.

"I came to see you." He said, sheepishly. I grinned, biting my lip.

"Stella probably told the whole lab about last night, so.." I leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"That was very brave of you, Elena." He said, looking at me before leaning down towards my lips.

"Ah, saved by the bell." Danny says walking in, right before we kissed, just as my results come up. I groan.

"Worst timing, ever." I look at the results and I feel dizzy. Flack catches me before I fall over.

"Whoa, careful. What's wrong, El?" He asks, concerned. Danny walks over to the screen and reads.

"Aw, shit. Flack, get Mac and Stella." He says walking over and grabbing my arm to steady me.

"You got it." He says walking out, leaving me and Danny. I look at my hands and notice their shaking.

"H-He's supposed to be in jail, Danny. After- Why isn't he in jail?" Danny shakes his head.

"I don't know, Lena. We'll catch him. We did before and we'll do it again." He says, and I nod.

Mac and Stella come in a minute later with Flack close on their heels, looking annoyed and concerned.

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Flack asks, crossing his arms. Danny sighs.

"His name is Steven Gage. He's a serial murderer. He kidnaps women, usually in a forensic profession, and beats, rapes and kills them. We caught him 4 years ago, after he-" He stopped, looking at me.

"He tried to kill Elena, Don." Danny said, sadly. I suddenly felt sick and ran to the trash, barely making it before emptying my stomach. Flack came over and held my hair, and I was grateful for that.

After my stomach settled, I stood up and Flack pulled me into a hug. I broke down and cried in his arms. I'm not proud of it, but he was so comforting. I looked at Danny, Stella and Mac and saw that they felt guilty for what had happened to me.

"Stop looking at my like that. It wasn't your fault. Any of your faults." I said, releasing Flack and walking to Danny. He looked so torn, like he felt scared, and angry, and guilty.

"Especially you, Daniel James Messer. Gage kidnapping me wasn't your fault." I told him sternly.

"I was your partner, Lena. Your backup, and I should have walked you up. He almost-" He choked out. I sighed and hugged him, when I let go, I looked at the four people in the room. Stella looked at me.

"I think we should go over the case file-Just, not you Flack. There are pictures of Elena that might- You can't help if you end up killing him. And Elena, you'll need to be a victim this time, not a CSI, and definitely not a cop." Stella said sympathetically. I nodded and Flack looked confused.

"I need the all the information on the case, Stella. Not just a selective amount. If the defense attorney hears about this later on, the case could be thrown out." He protested.

"It's alright, Stel. He needs to see them, and I'm okay with it. Really." I said grabbing Flack's hands and intertwining my fingers with his. Stella smiled a sad smile and nodded. Mac left to find out why Gage wasn't in prison. Danny had brought the case file up on the monitor and frowned before clicking the folder. There was a video of my statement at the hospital, before they processed me. He played it,

 _The video started with a much younger me, sitting on a hospital bed with my head on my arms, and my knees tucked into my chest. Younger Danny stayed in the camera's view but far away from me._

" _Hey, Ellie. I have to record you, okay?" Younger Danny asked, opening his kit. Young me looked up. Flack sucked in his breath and I squeezed his hand. The younger me was covered in bruises. I had a black eye, a cut on my forehead with a butterfly band aid, and bruises on my neck, from his hands._

" _I know the drill, Danny. Can we just get this over with?" Young me asked, voice quivering._

" _Yeah. What happened at your apartment three days ago?" Young Danny asked. I closed my eyes._

" _He hit me on the head and I was unconscious. I remember waking up, and being in tied up. He asked me what job I had, and hit me when I didn't answer, I was scared he'd kill me if he knew I was a cop. He found out after he started burning me." Young me had tears rolling down her cheeks by now.  
_

" _Burning you with what?" Young Danny asked, sadly. Young me lifted her shirt to reveal 6 small, circular burns. Young Danny gasped, and I felt tears on my cheeks. I touched my stomach absently._

" _A cigarette. He- only did it 6 times before I told him. I thought he'd kill me, but he-he smiled. Then he choked me until I was losing consciousness and I hit my head when I fell. I looked up at him and he started to undo his belt, and he cut my shirt off, and I was just in my bra and jeans, when I heard the door kicked open, and you and Mac came and saved me. He was going to- and you- Thank you, D."_

 _Young me reaches for him and young Danny walks over and holds me while I cry into his chest._

After it stops, Danny looks at me to gauge my reaction, and I lean into Flack and he pulls me to him.


	5. The hunt for Steven Gage Part 1

The next day, Mac called a meeting to brief everyone on the situation. I asked if he could tell them about what happened after I was kidnapped and the investigation, because I wasn't a part of it and I'd recount my experiences. Aiden had been fired for tampering with evidence weeks ago. I didn't really know Aiden that well, apart from work. We had a new CSI for a few days, and I like her. Her name is Lindsay Monroe and she's from Bozeman, Montana. Danny seems to like her too, immediately giving her the nickname 'Montana'. Lindsay is his new partner and I've been partnered up with Flack, not that I'm complaining. Everyone's in the conference room when Mac and Stella enter. Mac clears his throat and looks at me before turning the monitor on. The pictures of evidence from all the Gage killings, and my attack on the monitor on the left, and the 'crime scene' photos on the right monitor, including my old apartment. Nobody apart from Stella, Danny, Mac, and Flack know but they will soon.

"This is a case from 4 years ago. The suspect was sentenced and has been in jail, but broke out 2 days ago. We will review all evidence from the cases, but there's something we haven't told you, but are going to now." Mac says, turning and clicking a button on the remote, showing pictures of me, after the attack. Everyone looks at me, shocked and then to Mac.

"Elena was Steven Gage's 5th victim, but we were able to get to her in time to save her. She is the only surviving victim." Stella says.

"I was attacked in my apartment, and was held for three days while he- he tortured me." I said, nodding at Mac to click to enlarge the photo of my old apartment.

"He was waiting in the bedroom, and grabbed me while I was walking to the closet. He hit me with a pipe or something, and tied me up with rope. I woke up tied to a chair in the dining room. He wanted to to know where I worked, what I did. I didn't tell him, and he burned me with his cigarette until I told him I was a cop. My gun was in the drawer by the front door, and I couldn't get to it. Then he-" I looked at Danny, begging him to continue for me. He sighed and nodded at me.

"Gage had a pattern. His victims were women aged from 23-31, and worked in a forensic profession. Like a cop, or a forensic nurse, or a CSI. He would kidnap them, and torture them for days. He'd rape and kill them after three days. He never kept them alive for more than three days." Danny said not looking at me.

Mac displayed the photos taken of me from the hospital, and everyone gasped. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and Lindsay grabbed my hand. I shot her a 'thank you' look, and she nodded.

"We arrived at Elena's apartment to find Gage choking her and we arrested him. He appealed several times but they were all denied. Then yesterday, Katie Carter, a forensic nurse at trinity, was murdered. Elena matched the palm print off a broken bottle to Gage's booking card." Danny said, glancing at me.

"This stays between the people in this room. All evidence will be examined by the people in this room. Nobody else can know about this case, except Flack, and Sid. He attacked one of our own and we will put him back where he belongs." Mac said, the last part more for me, which I appreciated and gave him a small smile.

"Hey, want to get some lunch? You look like you could use a break and Danny's buying." Lindsay asks me, and I laugh a bit.

"I'd really like that, Lindsay. Thanks." I tell her and she grabs my arm and we walk after Danny.

"So you have nowhere to live, Montana?" Danny asks, as we walk to our table. Lindsay sighs.

"Not currently, no. I'm staying with my uncle, his kids are driving me nuts." She says as we sit down.

"I have a spare room if you're interested." I tell her and she perks up. I take a sip of my soda.

"Really? That'd be great, Elena! I really appreciate it, Thank you." She says, and I laugh.

"No problem. Since my roommate moved out, it's just empty. I live 3 blocks from work too."

"Walking distance, huh? Sounds perfect." She smiles. Danny laughs.

"Yeah, it was perfect for Lena cause she doesn't have a car. And she didn't like living with me."

"You lived with Danny?" Lindsay asked, looking at Danny, and I laugh.

"Yeah, it was after the Gage thing, and I couldn't stay at my place, so I moved in with Danny. It was for about 3 months and it was until I found a place, my current apartment." I told her taking a bite of my pepperoni slice.

"Lena's a great roommate, you'll see. She keeps the fridge stocked with pizza and beer, and she has the best movies. Plus, she's not too clean or too messy." Danny says biting his pizza. I smile at him.

"You can move in anytime, Linds. I can help you this weekend if you want. Maybe rope in Danny and Flack to help." I tell her and she grins.

"Speaking of Flack... Stella was filling me in on the office gossip. You and Flack?" She asks, smirking.

I almost spit out my cherry pepsi, especially when I see Danny's face. I swallow and look at her.

"Office gossip? Like everyone knows?" She nods and I groan and shake my head. Danny laughs.

"You guys were practically kissing yesterday in our office. Someone could've walked by and seen."

"Shut up, Messer." I said as we threw our trash away and walked back to the lab.

After the morning I had I decided, since I didn't have any active cases, I'd head to the precinct and see what Flack was doing. I got Danny to drive me instead of walking. I walked in and found him sitting at his desk with a kid, about 17-18 sitting in the chair next to him, and he was talking to him about something important. I walk over and he looks up and sees me, and so does the kid, who whistles at me.

"Damn, who's the chick?" He asks, looking me over and pausing at my chest, before looking at my face.

"My partner." Flack says, glaring at him. Then looks at me. "What's up, El?" He asks.

"I had nothing going on and you look busy. So, Flack, I gotta ask. What's with the kid?" I smirk.

"Hey! I'm 19, I ain't a kid." He said, winking at me. I roll my eyes.

"And I'm not a chick. You can call me detective." I tell him, and he nods. Flack laughs.

"You certainly have a way with perps, Elena." Flack says, waving a uniform over to take the kid, and looking back at me.

"How are you doing? The briefing was this morning right?" He asks, looking worried. I smile.

"I'm okay. Danny and Lindsay took me out to lunch at my favorite pizza place to cheer me up."

"I like that new girl. She knows how to handle Danny." Flack says grinning. I laugh.

"Danny likes her too. He calls her Montana." I tell him sitting on his desk. He grins at me.

"So, Lindsay's gonna stay with me for a while.. I was wondering if you'd help move her in this weekend?" I ask him and he nods.

"Sure, I don't work this weekend so that works." He says smiling.

"So, I was thinking you could come over, we could order chinese tonight?" I ask him, biting my lip.

"Sounds perfect." He says, smiling. My phone starts buzzing. I sigh.

"Matthews." I say answering the call. Mac tells me there was another victim, possibly by Gage.

"Case?" Flack asks after I end the call. I nod.

"Another victim. Danny's picking me up. He should be here soon." I told him. He nods.

"I'll see you later? Maybe 8?" I ask him standing up.

"Yeah, 8 works." Flack says smiling. I lean forward and kiss him before leaving, but not before hearing the wolf-whistles from the uniforms in the bullpen. I laugh and turn back and blow a kiss, winking, before walking out of the station and hurrying to Danny's waiting car. I get in and he drives off.

"What took so long?" He asks as we pull up to a red light. I smirk.

"Just giving Flack's coworkers something to talk about." He laughs and shakes his head. The light turns green and we move forward.

"I'll bet." He says, looking at me. I laugh hard, thinking about the day I met Danny.

Then he yells my name right before the truck slams into my side of the car, and my head slams into the dash. I hear Danny talking, but it's fuzzy and not very clear. After a while I feel the door next to me move, someone grabbing me and pulling me out of the car. I open my eyes to see Danny standing over me, his face paling, and I try to speak but I can't speak loudly. My vision blurs and I hear Danny yelling, looking at me scared, and I think he grabs my hand but soon, the darkness envelops me.


	6. The hunt for Steven Gage Part 2

FLACK POV

Elena had left me with a mess to clean up at the station. All the guys wanted to know the details about me and the hot CSI. After talking to the guys fro about 20 minutes, I get a call from Danny.

"Hey Danny, what's up?" I ask, still standing with the guys.

" _Flack.. I-I don't know what happened. It came out of nowhere." Danny said, sounding scared._

"Danny, what happened? Where's El? Is she okay?" I ask concerned. The guys look at me worriedly.

" _We were in an accident. She's next to me. Man, she's not good. I don't know if I should move her."_

"Check her neck. It would be evident in her neck if there was serious head trauma." I said, shakily.

" _No sign of trauma. I'm moving her. Call an ambulance, Flack." Danny said before hanging up._

I rush over to grab my jacket and call an ambulance. "Officer down. I repeat officer down!" I yell.

I hurry to the wreck, seeing Mac, Stella, Lindsay, and Hawkes. Danny was over by the car, head in his hands. I run over and duck under the tape. Mac walks over, Stella right behind him.

"Is she..?" I ask, not able to finish the question. Mac looks at me before shaking his head.

"She's in surgery. We won't know more until then. Let's talk to Danny." Mac says and I nod, following him to Danny, who looks up at me and I notice the blood, and I let out a shaky breath.

"I didn't see the truck until the last second. I tried to swerve but-" He said to me. I nodded.

"Tell us exactly what happened, Danny." Mac said as Hawkes and Lindsay walked over.

"We were joking with each other. One minute she was laughing and the next-" He says, choking on a sob. Lindsay walks over and puts a hand on his shoulder. He smiles at her before looking at us.

"I called Flack and then checked her for head trauma. I didn't find any so I opened her door and pulled her out. She was in bad shape, real bad." He said and nodded at Hawkes who was the first on scene.

"I was with the EMS because I volunteer on my days off. When we got here she was on the ground her head in Danny's lap. She was covered in smaller scratches and cuts. She had a medium sized gash on her head, Danny said her head hit the dash at impact, and it bled a lot, as head injuries do. She tried to speak, but all we got was 'him' before she went into shock." He said.

"'Him'. She knew it was Gage. Danny did you-" Mac realizes.

"I saw him, Mac. That sonofabitch rammed right into _her_ side of the car. He tried to kill her." Danny said angrily. I was processing this information. Elena's in the hospital. I didn't know if she would live or die. An hour ago we had made plans for me to come over tonight. Now it was entirely possible she wouldn't make it to tonight. My eyes kept finding their way over to the small pool of blood by the passenger side door. Something about that blood pool caught my attention.

"Lindsay, what do you notice about that blood?" I ask walking over and bending next to it.

"Looks like some kind of indentation in the blood. Looks like a hand print, with some interruption on the right middle finger." She says, bending down and taking a picture. I nod.

"I know where I've seen it. Mac, I need the pictures of Elena's neck from the attack." Danny said suddenly. Mac hands him his phone and Danny zooms in on the picture, showing the same interruption in the hand print in the bruise.

"Oh my god." Lindsay said shakily. "He touched her. He was right there. She was telling the EMS it was him." Mac dials a number and puts it on speaker phone.

" _Trinity hospital front desk, Pam speaking. How can I help?" The receptionist answers._

"This is detective Mac Taylor. My detective was in a car accident a half hour ago. She was taken to your hospital. I was told she's in surgery, I want to know her condition." Mac says authoritatively.

" _Her name, detective?" She asks._

"Elena Matthews." He tells her and we hear her typing on the keyboard. _"I'm very sorry."_ She says and my heart stops beating. Lindsay and Stella start crying and Danny shakes his head, tears falling onto his cheeks. Mac hangs up and kicks a trash bin. I just stand there. Elena's dead. She's gone.

"No. Wait, he wants us to think that she's dead so we don't look for her." Mac says after a minute.

"Mac.." Stella says, tear stained cheeks, reaching for him. He takes her hand, but looks at all of us.

"Think about it. He has medical training. He could've gotten into the surgery, and waited for them to stitch her up, then give her something to make her appear dead. Then take her 'body' and give her the antidote later. Why kill her so quickly after he's probably been thinking about it for years? It was too quick, too easy." Mac says and it makes sense. El testified, put him away, and she was the only survivor.

"She's his only mistake. She was his failure. She survived. He's going to want to take his time, and he'll have plenty if we think she's dead." Danny says, hoarsely. "We have to find her, soon." He says grimly.

ELENA POV

I feel something stabbed in my chest and feel a warmth course through my body causing me to jerk awake and gasp for air. I look around wildly, expecting to be in a hospital or on the street, but instead I'm in my old apartment, chained to the ceiling, staring at Steven Gage. He smiles evilly at me.

"Hello, Elena. We were interrupted last time we were together. Now we have all the time in the world"

"Why's that?" I ask, my voice gravelly.

"Everyone thinks you're dead. I injected you with something called tetrodotoxin, which mimics death."

Oh, this isn't good. If they think I'm dead... They won't be coming for me this time. What are they thinking? Danny's probably blaming himself for the wreck. And Flack. Oh god, Don.. No. Don't think about him. You can't fall apart now, Elena. You have to get out of this. I feel my badge still on my hip, and my holster is empty. I feel my phone missing from my jeans pocket. I start looking around the room, trying to figure out how I was getting out of this one. Gage comes in and starts recording a video on my phone.

"I thought we'd change the game. Show your friends that you're alive, for now. It gives you the chance to say goodbye. First, let's start with Mac, the man who's the reason you're a cop and a CSI. Well, the reason you're here now."

"Mac? What are you..?" I ask him confused. He laughs.

"He's your father, Elena. Didn't you know? I've seen your file. Your mother was in New York 5 years after you were born. You're blood type is AB-, right? AB- requires both parents to have it. Your mother wasn't, and Mac is. I've seen his file as well. His wife, Claire, AB- too. I did a paternity test. Why do you think I let you live?" He said, laughing.

"Mac and Claire were my parents?" I asked, disbelievingly. Gage came over and nodded.

"You were kidnapped when you were 5, Elena. You were at the park with your mother, Claire, and your fake mother, Maria, took you, and brought you to Chicago. After Claire died in 9/11, Mac never stopped searching for you. Too bad he'll never know she's been right there this whole time!"

He stops that video and starts a new one "Oh! How about your best friend next. Danny, right? He was driving. What do you want to say to him?" He asks me, fully enjoying this.

"I- I wish I could've made dinner tonight. I was going to show you that I know my way around the **kitchen**. You said there was no way in **hell** I could cook. I wanted to prove to you that I could cook the **best fish** in the whole **district**. And I hope you take my advice about Montana. You'll thank me one day." I say into the camera and he stops that video. He starts the third video.

"This one's for your boyfriend, Flack, right?" At the mention of Flack, a tear rolls down my cheek.

"Aw, sore subject that one? What do you want to tell him? Any declarations of love? That would be interesting, don't you think?" He ask grinning, and I look at the camera.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize how I felt about you before. I wish we could've had more time, Don. I want you to know that I meant what I said, about you. Don't forget it. I know you have to **move** on, like I did **4 years ago**. The **pictures** I showed you yesterday? **Remember** **those** , and you'll always **have me**."

"Okay, that's the last one. I'm going to send these and then I'll smash your phone." He says, smirking.

FLACK POV

Mac and Danny both look at their phones and I hear mine chime.

"I got a message from Elena." I tell them looking up. Danny nods and so does Mac.

"So the three of us got messages. Mac, yours came in first. I think that's the order." Danny says.

Mac connects it to the monitor and presses play. It shows Elena chained to a ceiling, bloody and beaten,

and Gage speaking off camera.

" _I thought we'd change the game. Show your friends that you're alive, for now. It gives you the chance to say goodbye. First, let's start with Mac, the man who's the reason you're a cop and a CSI. Well, the reason you're here now." Elena looks up and frowns, her eyebrows furrowed._

" _Mac? What are you..?" She asks, and he laughs._

" _He's your father, Elena. Didn't you know? I've seen your file. Your mother was in New York 5 years after you were born. You're blood type is AB-, right? AB- requires both parents to have it. Your mother wasn't, and Mac is. I've seen his file as well. His wife, Claire, AB- too. I did a paternity test. Why do you think I let you live?" He said, laughing._

 _Mac and Claire were my parents?" She asks shocked. Gage moves closer._

" _You were kidnapped when you were 5, Elena. You were at the park with your mother, Claire, and your fake mother, Maria, took you, and brought you to Chicago. After Claire died in 9/11, Mac never stopped searching for you. Too bad he'll never know she's been right there this whole time!"_

Then the video cuts off. Mac stares at it, his eyes glassy and he blinks a few times.

"Mac, you never told us you had a daughter." Danny said. Mac shook his head.

"She disappeared 20 years ago, I thought she was dead." He says sadly.

Danny connects his phone to the monitor, and plays his video.

" _Oh! How about your best friend next. Danny, right? He was driving. What do you want to say to him?" Gage asks her._

" _I- I wish I could've made dinner tonight. I was going to show you that I know my way around the_ _ **kitchen**_ _. You said there was no way in_ _ **hell**_ _I could cook. I wanted to prove to you that I could cook the_ _ **best fish**_ _in the whole_ _ **district**_ _. And I hope you take my advice about Montana. You'll thank me one day." Elena says, looking into the camera._

Wait, she over enunciated kitchen, hell, best fish, and district. Hell's kitchen, best fish district." Danny says happily.

I play my video.

" _This one's for your boyfriend, Flack, right?" A tear rolls down Elena's cheek._

" _Aw, sore subject that one? What do you want to tell him? Any declarations of love? That would be interesting, don't you think?" Gage asks and Elena stares ahead._

" _I'm sorry I didn't realize how I felt about you before. I wish we could've had more time, Don. I want you to know that I meant what I said, about you. Don't forget it. I know you have to_ _ **move**_ _on, like I did_ _ **4 years ago**_ _. The_ _ **pictures**_ _I showed you yesterday?_ _ **Remember**_ _ **those**_ _, and you'll always_ _ **have me**_ _."_

The video cuts out. Danny claps.

"Boom. She left us a message. The pictures, move, 4 years ago, remember those, have me. He's keeping her in her old apartment in Hell's kitchen!" Danny exclaims and we all rush over to her old apartment and see Elena chained up with a surprised and angry Steven Gage standing behind her with a gun pointed at her liver.

"Come any closer and I'll kill her. It'll be slow and painful. EMS won't be here soon enough."

"Shoot him, Flack." Elena demands, her voice deep and gravelly.

"Ah, he won't because you're in the line of fire." Gage says smugly. Mac walk in and pulls out his gun.

"What are you going to do, Mac? Shoot your daughter?" Gage taunts him.

"Mac, we have to do something." Danny whispers. Mac looks at Stella and then at me, and we back up, giving Gage space. He laughs.

"Typical. Don't want poor Elena too bleed out in front of all her friends, do you?" He asks Mac.

"Mac, please shoot him! Do it!" Elena yells, and Gage jabs her with the gun and she winces.

"Oh, no. He doesn't want to take that risk." Elena looks at Mac, begging him to do it. He mouths no.

"Shoot him! He'll kill me either way. Dad, please!" Elena says and then widens her eyes.

"Dad? It seems Elena's accepted the truth, Mac. Too bad it's too late." Then there's a gunshot, and Elena crying. Mac lowers his gun and runs to her unchaining her hands. She throws her arms around him and cries.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asks him, through her sobs.

"I didn't know. I thought you were dead. I didn't think that you'd be right in front of me." He says hugging her back. She looks up at me and smiles.

ELENA POV 

"Hey Don. I think we might have to push dinner an hour." I tell him and he laughs, relieved.

Mac helps me up and we head to the hospital. I get checked in and learn that I have a level 2 concussion, so I have to spend the next few days in the hospital. Mac, I should start referring to him as my dad, and Flack were going to be living out of my hospital room the next few days. Linds and Stel, Hawkes and Danny promised to visit when they could. I was happy it was finally over. Gage was dead, and I found my father. I had my friends and I had the greatest guy I could ever want. Life was good. Well at least for now. Being a cop, things were always unpredictable, but I loved the mysteries.


	7. It's good to be back

It's been two days since I was admitted to the hospital, and I was already going crazy. I had a level 2 concussion, which means I have to be woken up every hour, on top of that I found out that I had 3 bruised ribs, which hurt like hell, and I was going to be stuck here for another few days. Danny, Hawkes and Lindsay tried to cheer me up earlier but I was not feeling the spirit. They could leave, and more importantly, work! Flack has been in every chance he can get to see how I'm doing, which is one of the highlights of my days here. Another is when my dad, who happens to be my boss, swings by with details about a case he worked on or stories about my mom. I vaguely hear a knock but I sit up anyway, which is so not an easy or painless task. I look at the door to see Lindsay with a cup of coffee. I rub my eyes and and groan.

"Want a sip?" She asks, holding it out, after looking out for nurses, and I take a long sip.

"Mmm, that was almost worth the pain in my ribs." I tell her grimacing through the pain. She frowns.

"How are you doing?" She asks coming to sit in the chair by my bed. I nod.

"I guess hate sitting around, you know? Not being out there solving cases sucks." I tell her.

"Yeah, I'm the same way. I'm not good at doing nothing." She tells me smiling.

"How are you and Mac? Are things different?" She asks. If it were anyone else, I would have lied.

"It's a little weird, ya know? But I think it's a good weird. I've never had a family before. Maria was never around, if she was she was high, so I never really had parents. I raised myself, looked out for me without needing anyone else. Now I have Mac and Stella, who are my parents now. I mean I'm 27 years old, Lindsay. My boss is my dad's girlfriend, who's also my friend, and her boss is my dad. Oh, god. My partner is one of my best friends, and my dad's friend and I'm also kinda dating him, which dad does NOT know. My other best friend is into my new friend, who happens to like him too, but they refuse to do something about it. I'm living a freaking soap opera!" I breathe deeply after my rant, which hurts a lot. Lindsay just smiles at me. My true accent, the New York in me, slipped out.

"Elena, relax. Talk to Mac and Stella, about everything. It'll all work out." She says, eyes widening.

"What about your best friend liking the new girl?" Lindsay asks, blushing. I smirk, raising a brow.

"Come on Lindsay! He teases you constantly. You both stare at each other when the other isn't looking. Plus, you both get this ridiculous grin when someone mentions either of your names." I tell her dryly.

"Really?" She asks grinning, playing with her coffee cup. I laugh and wince.

"Yeah. You should tell him. Did you hear how Flack and I got together?" I ask her, not sure about it.

"No. Tell me!" She says, clearly interested. I nod.

"We were at a crime scene, and I found a smudged print. I bet him I could get a name." I told her.

"Maybe I will do something, then." She said as she was walking out the door. She waved and I nodded.

The next day I checked myself out against the doctor's orders, before anyone came to see me. I changed into a pair of leggings, a crop top, so I could bandage my ribs, and a police academy zip up sweater of Don's, which I leave unzipped. I pull on my combat boots, which was a painful task with my ribs, and head out the door. I hail a cab and head to the precinct. I pay him and head inside. I hear cheers and people smiling at me, except one. He just looks seriously pissed off.

"What the hell are you doing here and not in the hospital?" He asks me, walking over from his desk.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me." I tell him, pulling him down to kiss me. He sighs, but kisses me back. When he notices me wince, he pulls back and shakes his head. He grabs his jacket.

"Oh, where are you going now?" I ask him, hoping he wasn't mad at me. He grabs his keys.

"Taking you back to the hospital, Elena." He tells me sternly and I cross my arms, well as best I can.

"No way. I hate hospitals, and I'm fine." 

"Elena, you were tortured for 5 hours. That was 4 days ago, and you have bruised ribs and a concussion. You can't be out and back here that quickly, babe. You gotta take it easy." He tells me.

"I hate 'taking it easy'! I can't sit there and not do anything. Blame it on the Mac Taylor in me, but I can't not work. I've never even taken a day off, how am I supposed to be on sick leave?" I asked him.

"Don?" I hear someone say and we turn to see a really beautiful woman with black hair and blue eyes.

"Sam! What are you..?" He asks, looking from me to 'Sam'. She turns to me and her eyes widen.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt this.. whatever it was, I just needed to- I'm sorry, you're probably wondering who I am. I'm Sam Flack, Don's sister." She says, smiling, and I turn and gape at him.

"This is so not how I wanted to meet your sister!" I whisper-yell at him and turn to Sam. I grimace.

"I'm Elena, Flack's partner. Excuse the 'casual Friday' look. I was just released from the hospital." I tell her waving a hand at my clothes. She nods in understanding, seeing the bandages.

"More like escaped from the hospital." Flack mumbles but I notice and 'accidentally' smack him.

"Wow, Don, you told me about 'El' but I didn't expect her to be.. well, hot for one. And secondly I didn't think, well now seeing her I get it, that you'd be sleeping with your partner." She says and I laugh and wince, grabbing my ribs. Flack immediately picks up his coat that he had put back on his chair.

"Flack, I'm fine." I choke out through gritted teeth. He scowls at me. Sam looks mildly concerned.

"Should you be out of the hospital, El?" She asks me and I smirk at her. She looks confused. I sigh.

"When Flack and I were partnered 4 years ago, I told him my name and he always called me El. Said that if I refused to call him Don, he refused to call me Elena." I said, smiling at the memory.

"Yeah, well, you're also the most stubborn, reckless, pain in the ass partner I've ever had." He says grumbling in defeat. I smirk and kiss him quickly. Sam giggles.

"But I thought that's what you liked about me? Or is it just because I'm hot?" I ask him, winking and he smiles a bit. I bite my lip to keep from laughing and turn to Sam.

"Walk me out?" I ask her and she nods grinning. She hugs Flack and walks with me to the door.

"I didn't think I'd meet you in this condition. Or these.. circumstances. Look, about Flack.." I start.

"I like you. You're blunt, and honest, beautiful, but also really down to earth and you really care about my brother. I see it. Truthfully, I'm glad that Don has you. He always seemed to like you, a lot."

"Yeah, I liked him too. I just, risky situations involving danger, sign me up, but dating your partner? I was never that person. Of course, I get paired with a cute guy with gorgeous blue eyes I could melt in, I couldn't keep fooling myself." I told her honestly.

"Yeah, he never showed me pictures of you. Probably cuz' I woulda told him to 'get with that without thinking twice' but meeting you, you both are by the book cops, well Don is, but you try." She smirks.

"He told you that I find trouble?" I ask, and she laughs.

"More like rants about it. 'She's gonna get us both killed Sam, I'm tellin' you, I don't know what the chief was thinkin' with this partnership. The girl's crazy. She jumped off a fire escape and right onto the perp! She nearly broke her wrist, and all she says is 'We got him didn't we Flack? Stop whining and cuff him, I think I broke my wrist.' Oh my god, but he also talked about you and your after case beers."

"Yeah, it was just a sprain anyway." I said smiling. She giggles, but sobers up.

"He told me about- what happened. That's why I'm here. I wanted to make sure you were okay." She tells me as we stand outside on the steps. I look at her and she nods to her car and we get in.

"The first time was 4 years ago, before Flack and I were partnered. Steven Gage, a serial rapist and murderer, targeted beautiful young women with forensic careers, and kidnapped, raped and tortured them for three days and then killed them. I was 23 and a new CSI. I'm kinda smart, like genius level. I graduated high school when I was 14 and was in the academy the day I turned 18. I worked undercover in Chicago for a few years before coming here for a job at the crime lab. I worked his case and he saw me at a crime scene and stalked me. I got weird calls, notes left on my door, and one day, a finger. It was from a missing girl, and we found her body days later. He knocked me out one night and tied me up and the attack was in my apartment. My best friend, Danny, also Flack's best friend, saved my life. Flack was assigned my partner as soon as I was allowed back to work, and we've been friends since."

"Wow. But you said first time." Sam said, stopping at a McDonald's to get some food. We get some cheeseburgers and cokes and sit in the car.

"The second time was 4 days ago. He caused a car accident and kidnapped me from the hospital. He told me the truth about my parents and he tortured me again, and Flack and my dad, who's actually Mac, came and saved me, again." I said eating some fries. She stares at me.

"So Mac's cool with you and my brother hooking up, or what?" She asks and I choke on my fries.

"Uh, no. Mac doesn't know that I'm with Flack." I tell her playing with the hem of my sweatshirt.

"Why do you call him Flack and not Don?" Sam asks me curiously, as she takes a drink. I shrug.

"He's been my partner for 4 years. I've always called him Flack. If I call him Don when we're alone and I let it slip around people, or god forbid, my father? It would be bad.." I tell her glancing at her.

"If this thing with my brother is serious, and I'm pretty sure it is seeing how you two act, I think you should tell your dad." She tells me with a smile, as we drive towards the hospital. I scowl.

"Sam..." I start to say. She shakes her head.

"Look, you're in pain, Elena. The hospital has tons of pain meds. Plus, Don's worried about you, and I don't like him distracted while he's working. He'd concentrate better if you were in the hospital."

Why didn't I think about that? I was putting him at risk! How could I be so selfish? "Okay, Sam."

"What? Really? Don said you were stubborn, I was expecting a fight." She says surprised.

"I didn't think about Flack, and how it was distracting him. I'm doing this for him. It's just that this thing between us is new, and we haven't had much alone time, because of Gage. I mean we only got together like 6 days ago, Sam. I'm not used to thinking about someone else, and making compromises."

Sam pulls into the parking lot and helps me walk inside. The nurse was very happy to see I changed my mind. She helped me up to an empty room and Sam helped me get settled. She called Flack and let him know I was back in the hospital. Then she stayed and we talked until visiting hours were almost over.

"Oh! Here." I tell her handing her my keys. "Can you give these to Danny Messer?" I ask her.

"Yeah, sure thing." I smile and thank her. She heads out and I text Lindsay telling her she can move in.

Flack comes in at around 7:30, and he looks drained.

"You look worse than I do and I'm in the hospital Flack." I tell him and he laughs.

"Uh-huh. I had a tough day. I'm glad you're back here. Sam said you didn't fight her on it."

"Well, she pushed the right button." I told him and we talked for a bit before visiting hours were over.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He says, kissing me before leaving. I smile and quickly fall asleep.

Three days after that I was released from the hospital and I was told I had a week off of work. It's my first day back on the job and I have been going stir crazy in my and Lindsay's apartment.

"Ready to go, Elena?" Lindsay calls from the hallway. I exit the closet dressed in my favorite jeans, a black t-shirt and my boots. I grab my leather jacket off the hook and my phone and keys from the dresser and open my bedroom door. Lindsay is dressed in a blue blouse, gray dress pants and black boots. Her hair is in a twisted bun, while my long dark brown hair is down and straightened. Like me, Lindsay has little makeup on, just eyeliner mascara. I smile and we make our way to the lab.

As soon as we step off the elevator we were greeted by everyone at the lab waiting for us. They all started cheering when they saw me. I laughed and Danny came over and hugged me.

"Glad you're okay, Ellie." He tells me and choke on a laugh.

"You haven't called me that in years. I miss it." I tell him kissing his cheek and walking over to my dad.

"Hey dad. Got anything exciting for my first day back?" I ask him after hugging him and Stella.

"Yep, You and Danny are partners again." He tells me and I frown.

"I'm partnered with Flack, and I thought you said 'never again'." Reminding him of 2 years ago.

"Well, Flack's been tasked with showing a rookie the ropes and Stella's partnered with Lindsay so all that's left his Danny." Mac says, clearly nervous about partnering us again.

"Dad, I swear that was a one time thing. I was young and stupid. I promise to be on my best behavior."

"Okay, Danny's got the case file. Get going." He tells me and I grin and hug him again before leaving.

We pulled up to a really nice hotel, and walked into the lobby. We got into the elevator and rode it up to the 25th floor. The crime scene was at the end of the hall, and as soon as we walked in, we knew this would be a difficult case. There were at least 12 people in the hotel room being interviewed and the victims were in the hot tub, which probably destroyed evidence on their bodies. We saw Flack and his new partner, an attractive brunette, and walked over.

"So, Flack, what do we got?" Danny asked him as I walked over to the pool, pulling on my gloves. A young woman with black hair, looked about mid 20's and a man with blonde hair, same age were dead, floating in the deep end and they looked like they were in their at least a couple days. Not a pretty sight.

"Two victims, John and Jane doe. Carol Richards and Kevin Lansing found the bodies, this is where " Flack reads us from his notepad. The brunette looked at the victims and looked like she was going to be sick.

"Look, if you're gonna be sick, try to make it to the hallway, or you'll make out jobs harder."

"Ellie, chill. Don't worry about her. She's always that abrasive. I'm Danny Messer with the crime lab. This is my partner, Elena Matthews." Danny says as he takes pictures of the crime scene to the brunette who smiles shyly.

"I'm Jessica Angell. I'm new to the force. Nice to meet you both. I heard a lot about you at the academy, Elena." She says to us and looks at me. I raise my eyebrow and bend down and examine the bodies.

"No visible trauma, but there is something at the bottom of the pool. Danny, you wanna get that?"

"No way, Lena. It's your first day back, this one's all yours." He tells me smirking as he takes a picture of the pool before I pull on the jumpsuit and walk to the stairs. I slowly wade into the pool and grab what I saw at the bottom.

"A phone. Maybe Adam can get something off this. Oh, and Danny? Screw you." I tell him shoving the phone into an evidence bag. He chuckles and keeps taking pictures.

"So, the stuff you heard, good or bad?" I asked Jessica as I took off the jumpsuit and saw that I was soaking wet. Damn. She looked up at me and smiled a bit.

"Some was good, but most of it was examples of what was risky and we shouldn't do. My instructor, Sargent Edwards told us that you were his best student because you weren't afraid of anything. Don told me about some of your collars from when you guys were partnered up. It's really impressive, and I hope I can learn a lot from you." She says and I gotta admit the kid's sweet. Naive and sweet.

"You don't want to learn from me, Angell. Flack will show you how to be a by the book cop. NYPD has one Elena Matthews for a reason. New York probably wouldn't survive two of em." Danny says from his spot by the door, where he's dusting for prints. I scowl at him and he chuckles again.

"That's it, Messer! Next time we get a call and evidence is in a dumpster you're diving in to get it!" I tell him and he glares at me and frowns, when he realizes I'm serious. I laugh and Flack chuckles too.

"Okay, okay you two. I honestly don't know why Mac thought it was a good idea to partner you too up again." Flack says to me as he and Angell follow me over to where I'm taking samples of the bottles of champagne and beer. I scoff.

"He didn't. Dad didn't have a choice though, seeing as there was nobody left for us to partner with."

"About that, sorry about stealing your partner, Elena." Angell says to me and I wave her off.

"No worries, kid. Me and Messer go way back. He and I were partners before I was paired up with Flack. It's like old times." I tell her, and then I go back to collecting the bottles.

"El, just be careful, alright? You got out of the hospital last week." Flack tells me with a frown.

"Flack, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, seriously. Just train your rookie and stay safe. Movie night at my house with Lindsay and Danny. You're bringing the pizza, pepperoni please?" I tell him and start collecting fingerprints. He and Angell leave soon after that. Danny and I finish up at the crime scene and head back to the lab.

"So, what's the deal with you and Lindsay?" I ask as we're waiting in the elevator. He scoffs.

"There is no 'me and Lindsay'. I don't know what you're talking about, Lena." He says and I snort.

"Okay. Like there was no me and Flack a week ago? Come on, Messer. Best friends are supposed to share these things, granted I didn't tell you about me being into Flack, but only because I thought I was just 'one of the guys' and that it wasn't possible. You guys are into each other ad I can help."

"You can help by budding out, Ellie." He tells me, but I see the slight smile and I know I did help.

"Uh-huh, sure. Staying out if it. Just do something soon or she'll find another hot New Yorker."


End file.
